Rising Star

Written By:

Paul Grimshaw

Myrtle Beach’s Madison Iseman finding success in Hollywood

To say 16-year-old Madison Iseman is “as cute as a button,” does her a disservice. Though it’s true, this petite Myrtle Beach girl-gone-Hollywood also possesses a maturity few of her peers can claim. She’s moved from Myrtle Beach, the only home she’s ever known, to Los Angeles, and has been auditioning for (and landing) TV, modeling, music video, film and commercial roles where she plays anything from a tween to a 20-year-old.

Iseman, who has been working with acting coaches since she was in middle school, can easily turn on the Southern charm, thanks to her father’s Carolina roots, but she gets her Yankee spunkiness from her mom, and now part-time L.A. roommate, Susan Iseman. Madison Iseman is the perfect combination of attractive, smart, young, talented and driven—all attributes needed to succeed in what is probably the nastiest, dog-eat-dog profession one could ever choose—showbiz.

When we spoke earlier this summer, Iseman had been living in Studio City (a suburb of L.A.) for three months. “I absolutely love it out there,” she says, her perfect Hollywood smile gleaming, thanks to her Myrtle Beach dentist dad, Dr. John Iseman.

“I’m virtual-schooled, which is school on the computer,” she says. “I hope to graduate next year, because I’m already legally 18 [through a court approved designation], even though I’m only 16.”
She’s already completed an about-to-be-released short film with Hannah Montana star Mitchel Musso, a music video with the Josh Abbott Band, a Hyundai car commercial, and other projects, but Iseman’s biggest break to date has been her casting as co-host of the weekly Mahomie Madness on Awesomeness TV, a YouTube Channel so popular with teens that DreamWorks purchased it for $33 million last May. A “Mahomie,” by the way, is a follower of rising teen singing and dancing sensation Austin Mahone. Iseman was chosen from among the countless multitude of teen girls seen for the role of co-host.

Iseman will continue to co-host the show, finish school and audition for every role that comes her way. Her supportive parents have let their daughter drive this effort of her own volition, according to Madison. “My mom was a bit iffy about moving to L.A. at first, but she’s been great—she’s a Supermom.”

Though she will forever have permanent ties to Myrtle Beach, she seems to be enjoying the pursuit of a West Coast dream career. “I met Snoop Dogg at FedEx,” says Iseman. “We were both trying to work the printer and I said, ‘Wait…you’re Snoop Dogg,’ and he said ‘That’s me, lil’ mama.’ It’s just so crazy out there.”

While in Myrtle Beach, Iseman is active with the First United Methodist Church. In 2012, she spent two weeks in Kenya, Africa, on a music/missions trip and says she’s developing her singing, songwriting and guitar skills as she has time. Between auditions, travel, schoolwork, gigs, and acting classes, she does what any teen girl anywhere might do. “I love to lay out by the pool and sleep.”